Monday, May 23, 2011

COTT: Clash Of The Titles

This clash's host: Jennifer Slattery

How long does it take you to decide whether or not a book's worth your money? Five minutes? Two? A precursory glance at the back cover? Perhaps you've heard, "You can't judge a book by it's cover." I'm not sure if that's true, but I do know, we judge novels by their covers--both front and back--all the time. Because we have to. With so many great fiction works vying for our attention, and a limited amount of time and money, we must be selective. For me, the book's gotta grab me right away, otherwise I'll move on.

Today we're asking you to discard the diplomacy urged in the previously quoted phrase. Yep, it's time to make a quick judgement, based solely on the back cover blurb--those 200-500 words able to make or break an author with a single scan.

Ready? Let the Battle of the Blurbs begin!

Excerpt A:

Robyn can’t help but notice the handsome new guy at her school. She ignores, however, the arrival of another being at Brookfield Central High School—a demon assigned to destroy her…

Robyn loves her friends, enjoys her youth group, and looks forward to meeting cute Caleb Montague. But when a caustic news reporter challenges her school’s prayer team, Robyn must choose: defend their right to meet on campus and pray for whomever they wish or back down at the principal’s request.

Now she must learn what God wants her to do. And she had better learn fast, because there’s a supernatural enemy in town whose sole mission is to stop her—no matter the cost.

Excerpt B:

How do you restore a soul? One brush stroke at a time …

Suz Mitchell is a determined dreamer, and won’t allow her ex-husband’s jail sentence to ruin their young son Jeremiah’s life. An accomplished artist, Suz moves with her child across the country to California’s central coast, and lands a job restoring priceless art for the historic Hearst Castle overlooking the sea.

But even dreams have shocking twists. To her surprise, a serious old flame, Seth, works at the castle and jumbles the new aspirations in Suz’s heart. While sorting through their past and a palette of spiritual differences, an even bigger brush with yesterday awaits. Suz must learn to let God be the true restorer of all that once seemed lost.

Vote for you favorite below then join the discussion: Ever bought a book based on the back cover blurb alone and if so, what about it captured your attention? If not, what process do you normally go through when selecting your next book?

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Disclosure:
In accordance with FTC guidelines regarding endorsements and testimonials for bloggers, I would like my readers to know that many of the books I review on my site are provided to me for free by the publisher or author of the book in exchange for an honest review. I am in no way compensated for any reviews on my site. All opinions are mine and I am not required to give a positive review.